Smart v. Simonson’s Empirical Analysis
867 F.2d 429 · 1989
Citation profile
3 federal appellate ·
Relationships
Applies 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act))
Relies on Harlow v. Fitzgerald · Anderson v. Creighton · Mitchell v. Forsyth · Malley v. Briggs · Ohio Bureau of Employment Services v. Hodory
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Recognizing that the operation of this [.Harlow ] standard “depends substantially upon the level of generality at which the relevant ‘legal rule’ is to be identified,” [An derson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635 , 107 S.Ct. 3034 ], 3038, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 [ (1987) ], the Anderson Court held: The contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right. That is not to say that an official action is protected by qualified immunity unless the very action in question has previously been held unlawful, ... but it is to say that in light of the preexisting law the unlawfulness must be apparent. Id. 107 S.Ct. at 3039 (citations omitted) (emphasis added).”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.